Brittle starfish loosing limbs

I have had my brittle starfish for a little more than a week now and it has been very active and I thought it was doing great until today. He was sitting up against the live rock and missing every leg!!! There are two very little stubbs left and he appears to still be alive... he's still moving. The only other things I have in the tank are two small clownfish, a serpent star, and 10 very small hermit crabs and turbo snails. My heater broke while I was at work today- it was at 86 degrees when I got home- could have caused it? What should I do?!?!?

It happened while I was at work so sometime in a 9 hour period... I did a 25% water change out but what was left of him still died lastnight Any ways I can prevent this in the future? What are some good brands for heaters that won't break or any other ideas on what could have caused this? It was like he just disintegrated...

There are 2 basic way to combat heaters going bad.Since they usually stick ON when they go bad,you can either set them up on a temp controller.Or use 2 smaller heaters.
With 2 heaters,if one sticks on,it shouldnt be enough to over heat the tank before you notice it.

There are 2 basic way to combat heaters going bad.Since they usually stick ON when they go bad,you can either set them up on a temp controller.Or use 2 smaller heaters.
With 2 heaters,if one sticks on,it shouldnt be enough to over heat the tank before you notice it.

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That sounds like a really good idea! I think that that is what I am going to do. Thank you!

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